They truly were birds of a feather; what one lacked in cruelty, the other made up for in cunning. Initially, Old Mrs. Ye had been somewhat perplexed, but with Qin Xiulian’s prompt, she understood completely. “Yes, now that I look back, he really doesn’t resemble us. Xiao Douzi is so shriveled and scrawny; how does he have any of his father’s likeness?”
Ye Xiaohua and Ye Xiaodou had followed such an unreliable mother, left without enough to eat or wear, so of course they were thin and skeletal. Moreover, both siblings actually took after their mother and were quite good-looking.
“Mother, there is no smoke without fire. We truly must be careful regarding this matter. Lady Li was a troublesome woman, and now she has up and left. There’s no reason for us to help her raise her children, is there?” Qin Xiulian had been watching Old Mrs. Ye’s expression closely. Seeing no resistance, she felt secure enough to boldly press on.
Old Mrs. Ye pondered for a moment before finally nodding. “Hmph, it must have been that unchaste woman fooling around with others. Why else would she give birth to a fool?”
“However, it is best not to publicize this matter,” Old Mrs. Ye added, feeling that if everyone found out, the Ye family would lose face.
But Qin Xiulian did not see it that way. Even if it looked bad, it had nothing to do with the eldest branch of the family. If anyone was to be despised, it would be that mother and her two children. Her ultimate goal was to get her hands on the second branch’s courtyard.
“Mother, paper cannot wrap up fire. Do you think that if we don’t say anything, the villagers won’t find out? Those women have nothing better to do every day than sit under the trees and gossip about everyone’s business.”
At this point, Qin Xiulian did not forget to score some favors. “In fact, I heard these rumors long ago. But I was afraid you would feel upset, so I kept it to myself. Yet after the scene the silly girl caused today, I’m afraid it truly can’t be hidden anymore. If you ask me, don’t let it worry you. Those two couldn’t be counted on anyway. Don’t you still have your eldest grandson? Once he marries, he’ll give you a great-grandson the very next year to show his filial piety.”
Qin Xiulian had a silver tongue and knew how to coax people. In reality, many of Old Mrs. Ye’s actions targeting the second branch were instigated by Qin Xiulian behind the scenes. Compared to Old Mrs. Ye, she was much smarter; she only needed to move her mouth, while the one shouting and brawling outside was always Old Mrs. Ye.
In the end, everyone praised Qin Xiulian for being kind, benevolent, and good-tempered.
Old Mrs. Ye was spun right around by Qin Xiulian’s sweet words. Her mind became consumed with the single thought of driving out the two little bastards, and she could not wait a moment longer. The more she thought about it, the less she could tolerate the siblings.
She stood up abruptly. “No, I have to go look at that fool. It’s truly bizarre—hasn’t she always been simple-minded? It’s understandable if she managed to return from the back mountain, but she has never even been to the town before, yet she could return from there too. Is she truly a fool or just faking it?”
Qin Xiulian was currently gloating over her successful instigation, so she replied absentmindedly, “She’s been a fool from childhood to now; could she suddenly stop being one? Unless heaven itself worked a miracle.”
Old Mrs. Ye thought about it and found it reasonable. When the second branch had their firstborn daughter, no one cared. Even Lady Li, her birth mother, was unwilling to look after the child. Before her first month of life was up, the child fell ill with a high fever and grew stranger and stranger as she aged, completely unlike other children. Afterward, everyone knew that the child’s brain had been fried from the fever when she was little, making her a fool.
Since she was a fool, she would be easy to deal with. Old Mrs. Ye stopped rushing; since the sky had already grown dark, she was unwilling to walk over.
Seeing Old Mrs. Ye suddenly sit back down, Qin Xiulian could not help but ask, “Mother, what’s wrong? You’re not going anymore?”
Old Mrs. Ye gave a cold grunt. “I’m not going. I’ll go tomorrow during the day instead.”
The mother and daughter-in-law spoke quite loudly, and Ye Teng, who was lying in the adjacent room, heard them with absolute clarity. He still could not get out of bed, and remembering the kick the silly girl had delivered to him, he knew this grudge had to be avenged.
“Grandmother, Mother, drive those two bastards away! Kick them out of our Ye family, don’t let them stay in the house anymore, lest they offend everyone’s eyes.”
As soon as Ye Teng shouted this, Old Mrs. Ye could not bear it. “Oh, my precious grandson, don’t be angry. Rest assured, Grandmother will definitely help you vent this grievance. Those two little bastards must leave our Ye family tomorrow.”
Unaware of what they were about to face, the siblings were currently eating fragrant braised pork and white rice, happier than words could describe.
Long before Ye Xiaohua blanched the pork belly in water, Xiao Douzi’s mouth had been watering with craving. Although he had eaten a lot of delicacies at the wealthy Qin residence today, he hadn’t tasted any meat. When his sister was eating the meat buns, his stomach had been so full that he couldn’t swallow another bite.
Seeing how his saliva was nearly dripping down, Ye Xiaohua smiled knowingly and poked his forehead. “You little glutton, there will be plenty for you to eat in a moment. Go fetch a few more pieces of firewood for your sister.”
Xiao Douzi skipped and bounced his way out. The little fellow was in a good mood now, and Ye Xiaohua’s mood improved along with his. Never mind whether tomorrow would be covered in dark clouds; it was enough that it was perfectly sunny right now.
The siblings ate their fill during this meal. For his small size, Xiao Douzi actually managed to eat two large bowls of rice. If Ye Xiaohua hadn’t been afraid he would overeat and burst, the little fellow might have asked for another bowl. In the end, Xiao Douzi mimicked a puppy and licked his bowl completely clean.
“Sister, it’s so delicious. It would be wonderful if we could eat this every day.”
Ye Xiaohua stroked his head. “If you eat it every day, I’m afraid your little belly will burst. But your sister promises you that I will definitely not make you wait long before having another meal of meat, how about that?”
Xiao Douzi danced with joy, climbed down from his stool, and even offered to help wash the dishes.
It was good that the little fellow was sensible, but Ye Xiaohua looked at the chipped bowl—which could easily cut a mouth if one wasn’t careful while eating—and on one hand feared injuring Xiao Douzi, while on the other, there weren’t many usable bowls left at home, and she couldn’t risk him breaking them.
Ultimately, the dishes were washed by Ye Xiaohua, while Xiao Douzi stayed by her side without taking a single step away. The little fellow was exceptionally dependent on Ye Xiaohua now, to the point that he almost wanted to follow her to the latrine. Because of this, if she returned even slightly late, the little fellow would anxiously come out to look for her.
Ye Xiaohua knew that Xiao Douzi had been traumatized by Lady Li abandoning him, and now that she was his sole reliance, he was terrified that she would disappear as well.
How could I possibly disappear?
Just after eating breakfast the next morning, Ye Xiaohua heard a commotion outside. Initially, she thought Lady Tian had come back for revenge because of the beating yesterday, but it turned out not to be her. That voice belonged to… Old Mrs. Ye.
Just as Ye Xiaohua was tossing out the water used to scrub the pot, she saw Old Mrs. Ye leading a vast and mighty crowd of people toward them, which included the white-bearded Village Chief. Judging by this posture, the matter today was no small ordeal.
Hearing the noise, the first thing Xiao Douzi did was tuck himself behind Ye Xiaohua, peering out stealthily from there.
The Village Chief still held great authority within the village; whenever a major event occurred in any family, he would be invited to serve as a witness. This was precisely why Ye Xiaohua felt that those arriving today came with ill intent.
Could it be…? Seeing the smug Qin Xiulian behind Old Mrs. Ye and the resentful Lady Tian, who still bore a red mark on her neck from her injury yesterday, she understood.
Everyone who ought to come had arrived. Looking at the crowd, the corners of Ye Xiaohua’s mouth curled upward as she smiled.